• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,360,000 km2
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	21,600,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	2009
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	7.5 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number c.250,000-1,300,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2006), while the population in Russia has been estimated at <100 breeding pairs (Brazil 2009).

Trend justification: The overall population trend is decreasing, although some populations have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2006). This species has undergone a small or statistically insignificant decrease over the last 40 years in North America (data from Breeding Bird Survey/Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007) Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Belgium	extant	vagrant
Bermuda (to UK)	extant	vagrant
Canada	extant	native		yes	yes	yes
Czechia	extant	vagrant
Denmark	extant	vagrant
Faroe Islands (to Denmark)	extant	vagrant
Finland	extant	vagrant
France	extant	vagrant
Germany	extant	vagrant
Greenland (to Denmark)	extant	vagrant
Guam (to USA)	extant	vagrant
Iceland	extant	vagrant
Ireland	extant	vagrant
Japan	extant	vagrant
Mexico	extant	native			yes
Netherlands	extant	vagrant
North Korea	extant	vagrant
Norway	extant	vagrant
Poland	extant	vagrant
Portugal	extant	vagrant
Russia	extant	vagrant
Russia (Asian)	extant	vagrant
Spain	extant	vagrant
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	native			yes	yes
Sweden	extant	vagrant
United Kingdom	extant	vagrant
USA	extant	native		yes	yes	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Canada	Barkley Sound
Canada	Kitkatla Channel, Goschen Island North to Porcher Island
Canada	Old Crow Flats
Canada	Point Lepreau/Maces Bay
Mexico	Bahía Todos Santos
Mexico	Complejo Lagunar Ojo de Liebre
USA	Glacier Bay & Icy Strait
USA	Prince William Sound

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Boreal	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Other impacts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/surf-scoter-melanitta-perspicillata on 18/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 18/12/2024.